And alexander miller



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. MILLER. STEAM ENGINE.

No. 531,267. Patented Dec. 18,1894.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3. A MILLER STEAM ENGINE.

(No Model.)

Patented Dec. 18 1894.

|s PETERS on m 0.. wswunfan n c NITED STATES P-ATENT Q FIQE.

ALEXANDER MILLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM BROWN, JERSEY CITY, NEW- JERsEY, A DALEXANDE MILLER, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-ENGINE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,267, dated December 18, 1894.

Application filed March 8,1894. Serial No.502,833. on model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: D is the rock-shaft for shiftingthe links 0 Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MILLER, c. This rock-shaft is supported in suitable of the city and county of New York, in 'the bearings on the framing A and is furnished State of New York, have invented a new and with arms 7 e, one for each link, each of said 5 useful Improvement in Steam-Engines, of arms being connected with its respective link which the following is a specification. by a rod f. Only one of these arms e and My invention has for its especial object to rods f is shown in the drawings. (See Fig. 2.) provide a small engine suitable for control- The valves, the links and the eccentric conling the operation of the valves of a larger 'nections need no particular description be- 10 engine or for producing the operation of any yond sayingthat they may be the same as in valves or valve gear which may require too engines in common use having link valvemuch power to admit of the operation dimotions. rectly by hand. V The rock-shaft D and its arms 6 and the An engine embodying my invention is also connections of the latter may be the same as r 5 applicable to other purposes for which an enin engines in common use and are so repre- 'gine the piston of which is capable of a vasented. riable stroke is desirable. E designates the cylinder of the reversing I will'first describe the improvement in deengine to which my invention relates. This tail withreference to the accompanying drawcylinder may be secured to any fixed part of 2o ings and afterward point out its novelty in the the main engine. It is represented as affixed claims. Y to the condenserF. The piston-rod k of this Figure 1 represents a front view of the cylreversing engine is represented in Fig. 2 as inders, the valve gear and parts of the crank having a cross-head which works on a stashaft of a double marine steam engine heretionary guide m, and the said cross-head is 7 25 inafter referred to as the main engine to connected by a rod h with an arm 9 on the the valve gear of which a smaller engine emrock-shaft D, for the purpose of producing bodying my invention is applied as a revers-- the necessary movements of the said rocking engine. Fig. 2 represents a side view of shaft for shifting the links. the same. Fig. 3 represents a vertical sec- The cylinder E is furnished as shown in 8o 30 tion parallel with Fig. 2, of the cylinder of Figs. 3 and 4, with a valve-chest G in which the reversing engine and its valves. Fig. 4 there are two valves H Lthe valve H, which represents a horizontal section corresponding is to be operated from the rook-shaft D of the with Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 represent sections main engine, being'cylindrical or circular and of the valves and ports corresponding with hollow and fitted to a seat of corresponding 3 5 Fig. 3, showing the valves in different posi form in the chest G, and the valve I, which is tions. Fig. 7 is aside view of'an engine emthe one to be operated by the hand of the enbodying my invention suitable for operating gineer for letting onand shutting off the directly on a valve. steam to and from the cylinder E and for regu- Similar letters and numerals of reference lating the length of stroke of the piston E o designate corresponding parts in all the figbeing of the kind known as an oscillating D- ures. valve, and fitted-to a circular seat provided In Figs. 1 and'2, A A designate parts of the for it in the interior of the hollow valve H. framingof the main engine supporting the The said valves have their spindles H I in cylinders which, with their valve-chests, are line with each other, thev spindle H of the 45 inclosed within a casing'B. G isthe crankvalve H working through a stuffing-box n. in

shaft of the said engine provided" with two one side of the valve-chest G and the spindle eccentrics a a for the valves of the two cyl: I of the valve I working through a stuffinginders thereof. b b are the stems or rods of box 0 in the opposite side of the valve-chest. the said valves each connected by a link 0 The hollow valve H has provided through I00 50 with the rods 01 d of its respective two eccenits circular parts four ports 1, 2,3, 4., of which tries a a. r l'is always in communication with a steam pipe 19 at the back of the valve-chest and the others 2, 3, 4:, are so spaced that may always be in communication with the exhaust port 5 of the valve'chest and with the exhaust pipe q thereunto attached, while 2 and 3 are always in communication respectively with the ports 2* and 3* of the valve-chest which communicate respectively with the upper and lower ends of the cylinder E. The said ports 2*, 3 and 5 are of such width and the oscillating movement to be given to the valve II, as will be hereinafter described, is of such extent that the said ports 2, 3 and t will always continue in communication with their respective ports 2*, 3* and 5. The necessary oscillating movement of the said valve II is produced by an armi on the rock-shaft D of the link motion through a rod j which connects the arm 2' with the arm j of the valve spindle II.

The valve I which is the only one to be operated by the hand of the engineer for controlling the main engine, has the cove in its face and the marginal portions of its face outside of said cove of such width that the said portions may cover and close the ports 2, 3 and 4 as may be understood by reference to Figs. 3 and 6, or that it may bring either of the ports 2 or 3 in communication with the port t as may be understood by reference to Fig. 5 where 3 and 4 are in communication.

For operating the said valve I, its spindle I 1 is furnished with an arm 4" which is connected by arod r with one arm of an elbowrock-shaft t which works in suitable fixed bearings t On the end of this rook-"shaft at the frontot the main engine is a small handlever i by which the engineer, through the connections of the rock-shat'tt just described with the valve I, manipulates thesaid valve for stopping, starting and reversing the main engine as will be presently described. This hand-lever t is fitted with a hand-screw i by which itmaybe secured to a slotted sector plate 1 t to hold the valve I in either of the three positions necessary for stopping the engine or causing it to turn forward or backward. In

Fig. 1 the lever is shown locked in the cenj tral position for stopping.

sition shown in Fig. 2, the piston E of the reversing engine is stationary at the center of its stroke as shown in Fig. 3 and the valves H and I are both in their central positions, the

ports 2 and 3 in the valve II being covered by the marginal portions of the face of the valve I and closed.

To start the engine all that "is necessary is to move the hand-lever t in one direction or 1 the other to bring the valve I tea position to 3 or 2, 2 to the exhaust and thereby to produce the movement of the piston E downward or upward and so cause the said piston, through the rods and h, to turn the rockshatt D in a direction to shift the links 0 to positions for running the main engine in a forward or backward direction. I will suppose, for example, the valve I to be turned in the direction of the arrow shown upon it in Fig. 5, to cause steam, which always fills the valve ll behind the valve I, to enter through the ports 2 and 2* to the upper end of the cylinder E and to produce the exhaust from the lower end of the cylinder through the port 3, through the cove of the valve I and through the ports t and 5. The movement of the piston E in the downward direction then takes place and the steam by its pressure and expansive force would then drive the piston violently to the bottom of the cylinder,but as soon as the piston begins to move it begins to turn the rock-shaft in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2,and the arm i on said rock-shaft then acts through the rod j to turn the valve H in the same direction in which the valve had been turned by hand, as indicated by the arrow within said valve II in Fig. 5, and thus restricts the passage of the steam through the port 2 and the exhaust through 3. The move ment of the valve I by hand may in the meantime be continued so that the admission of steam to and its exhaust from the cylinder may be continued although such admission and exhaust continue to be restricted and are finally stopped by the more rapid or further continued movement of the valve I-I produced by the engine. The above described operation of the valves continues until the piston E has moved to the end of its stroke or as far as maybe desired, the movement of the piston continuing while the movement of the valve I is continued; and as the movement of thelatteriscontrolled by the engineer while the movement of the link is controlled by the piston E the engineer has perfect control of the link for he may move the valve I to any intermediate position between its two extremepositions thus admitting the steam to either end of the cylinder Eand causing the valve II to be moved by the piston E'into piston to a stop in a position always corresponding to the position of the valve I.

Itwill be obvious that by turning the valve I by hand in the opposite direction to that indicatedby the arrow shown.on it in Fig. 5, the piston would be caused to move in a reverse direction and the position of the link- D such a positionas willshut it off to bringthe When the main engine is at rest and the links of the valve gear occupythe central pogine differs in no other respect from that shown in the other figures hereinaboveda.

scribed. A similar rock-shaft D is employed, the upper end of the piston rod is beingconnected with a similar. arm g and the arm j of the valve H being connected by a similar rodj with another arm i on the same rock-shaft D.

What I claim as my invention isv 1. The combination with a steam cylinder and piston and a rock-shaft connected with and operated by said piston, of a hollow circular valve having a port 1 through which it receives steam and ports 2 and 4 through which it effects the induction and eduction of steam to and from said cylinder, a handoperated valve I within the said hollow valve" for opening communication to and from the cylinder through said ports 2 and 4, and a connection between said hollow valve and said rock-shaft for-producing the closing of said ports 2 and 4, substantiallyas herein set forth.

2. The combination with a steam engine having two eccentrics and a connecting link for operating its valve, of a rock-shaft and connections for shifting said link, a steam cylinder containing a piston connected with said rock-shaft for operating the same, a hollow circular valve H having a port 1 through which it receives steam and ports 2 and 4 through which it efiects the induction and eduction of steam to and from said cylinder,a hand-operated valve I within the said hollow valve for opening communication to and from thecylinder through said ports 2 and 4, and a connection between said hollow valve and said rock-shaft for producing the closing of said ports 2 and 4, substantially asherein set forth.

' ALEXANDER MILLER.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, L. M. EGBERT. 

